Both of the first two acts announced so far are spectacular! The festival lineup seems to get better and better every year!

I saw Wilco (Jeff Tweedy's main project/band) when they last played Pittsburgh at the Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland and it is without a doubt the best live show I've been to (the band played for over 3 hours). I definitely recommend anyone interested in checking out live music at the festival to go to his set. I promise you won't be disappointed!

They're announcing a different act each hour in order to get more listeners to tune in. I don't think that it should be viewed as a bad thing that a non-commercial radio sation is trying to increase their listenership.

I travel monthly and it seems that most places I go to have better stations left of the dial. By better, I mean more variety. WYEP is as bad as WDVE, they play the same artists over and over and over again. All of them singer-songwriter genre. God forbid any punk or experimental music.

I never have an issue with variety. Just looking at their play list from this morning so far http://www.wyep.org/wyep-playlist I find it to be very diverse. I'll go along with you on the punk as I am a fan. Not nearly enough. As far as being the best station I know of, I base it on programming and dedication to the city they serve. WYEP plays a lot of local artists.

Dude you don't even listen to us then I that is your idea of the station, the only genre you won't here is metal an contemporary country and pop for the most part. And I guess you don't consider Social Distortion, The Clash The Ramones, Rancid, or Operation Ivy punk because those are just SOME of what WYEP plays. And I guess King Crimson or Sonic Youth aren't experimental enough. I am a free form host so I know what we play. And our daily shows all have a specific "outline" that ensures we have a variety each hour during the day minus the block party and free form. And I hear WDVE blasting at work each day, that being said we couldn't be farther away from as far as what as his often we play a particular track.

Is ANYONE in Social D., The Clash, The Ramones, Rancid, Sonic Youth or King Crimson under the age of 50? If I quit listening when I would hear Michael Fronty and fucking Spearhead on both my morning and evening communte. Every damn day.

I do make sense. None of those bands have created a unique, different recording since the 90's.
Yes - that is exactly what WYEP does. Plays to an audience and takes 0 chances. Other independent stations I have listened to across the country are a lot more like WRCT or other college stations than an adult-contemporary easy listening station.
Whatever - I'm done making my point about the lack of edge at WYEP. Yes you please your 45 - 65 year old audience. The ones with $ that make donations. I'll just continue to listen to Pandora in my car and hearing a new band with a unique sound every day.
Radio is so dead.

It's funny how wrong you are. You complain about hearing the same music when we have New Music Monday and new at noon each weekday. And since you can't appreciate anything older, we have had the Block Party wish plays nothing prior to 2002 and exclusively plays new music and at least one local band each other, most of them new acts.

And yes we have to play to our audience, that's the business. We aren't commercial so we need to keep everyone who does donate happy (that's why we have a blues, soul, folk, etc shows every weekend). And I've personally (before I was even involved at WYEP) found about so much music through WYEP. Nobody played the Avett Brothers in the late nineties when they were barely known. We have had Dr. Dog, Black Joe Lewis, Stars, and many other new artists in our station for interviews and concerts, so you're whole conspiracy about us playing old music for older music fans is completely wrong. You sound like a hipster.

Dr. Dog is new? Come on. I'm 25F, grew up in Pittsburgh and have lived in Philly for 5 years. Philly's WXPN has a way more modern and diverse daily playlist. When I'm driving at home in the Burgh, I'd rather listen to the crap on KISS than the adult contemporary on YEP. It's okay to play to your audience, but when your "new music" is at noon...it should be in the morning and the drive home, don'tcha think?

I hate to be "that guy," but can we get something at least a little edgy? I understand for a family event like the arts festival, it's important to book acts with some sort of mass appeal... but can we get something beyond the stuff that the type of people who listen to non-threatening stuff like The Avett Brothers or The Arcade Fire enjoy?

Maybe some kind of punk, metal, hip-hop, or even as much as I hate to say it, electronic music?